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Astitch
Astich (formally spelled as ASStitch) was an American alternative metal band from West Bend, Wisconsin. The band joined in 1994 and became fully established later that year. They started off as an underground metal band, releasing material through to 2000 until they uploaded to Farmclub.com, getting their name out. They signed to Roadrunner Records and worked with them until 2003, when they were dropped due to poor album sales. Many of their releases are now rare, due to most of them having limited production. Their major releases are now out of print and thanks to their low sales, are also fairly rare. History The band was conceived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the brainchild of Trina Riffin, and was envisioned when she was in her sophomore year. Riffin was uncertain of what direction she wanted to take her life when she graduated. She hosted an open mic night at a local cafe and was encouraged to go into music herself after a series of successful performances done by her. Riffin answered an ad in a local paper by future members Sandra Le Blanc and Birch Small, who were looking for two additional members to start a band of their own. Riffin was accepted after bonding with Le Blanc and Small over music and personal interests. They originally performed under the name Uprise, doing cover songs, and gradually garnered a small following. They started their own label, Con-Federal Music, in 1998 and hired their show booker/label runner Hortense Fowler as an additional guitarist. They left Ontario to pursue gigs in the US. It was there that they began making their own material and adopting a metal sound. They took residence in West Bend, Wisconsin and did a set with another independent band. They performed together and decided to make it a full time deal after a successful set. They changed their name to Astitch once they were fully established and began searching for record deals. The name Astitch was inspired a nihilistic man who had his buttcheeks sewn together as a means of self-torment, someone the band heard about via word of mouth. Up until 2000, it was spelled ASStitch. The name was altered at the behest of Farmclub and the band stuck with it since the meaning would be kept. The band posted their second album onto Farmclub.com and got fans from there, later signing a deal with No Name Management and then Roadrunner. For their next major album, they teamed up with Rob Caggiano and GGGarth,and shifted their focus to emphasis on melody and more concise instrumentation. The result, Conten(m)pt, became their most recognized release, garnering favorable reviews, but undersold due to the album coming out five days shy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The band went quiet in 2002 amidst the controversy surrounding their previous album due to the material present within it. A new album came out in 2003 with minimal promotion, causing it to flop and prompting the band to leave the label. They went on hiatus in 2005 after a string of performances were made to promote the album to focus on securing a new record deal following some internal issues. In late-2008, the band announced on their MySpace page that they broke up. Among their reasons was failure in finding a new record label as well as the changing landscape of the music industry. The band refused to play independently due to starting at a moderately young age and having no day jobs to fall back on, as well as the fact that many of them dropped out of school after getting signed to a major label. Guitarist Laura Powers reportedly returned to live with her mother in Detroit, Michigan while keyboardist Birch Small resumed her prime passion, writing and illustrating manga. The remaining band members reportedly took on different odd jobs and are now living private lives. In spite of no longer being active, the band received a resurgence of popularity following the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, where they associate the content in the band's songs (notably Conten(m)pt) with events that occurred following his inauguration. Style Genres the band were classified under included alternative metal, nu metal, groove metal and industrial metal. Riffin cites White Zombie, The Residents, Yes, Acid Bath, The Smiths and Alice in Chains as her prime influences. The band was frequently compared to Tool, Slipknot and Mudvayne in terms of presentation and structure. Their songs were notable for attacking communism and anti-capitalist beliefs, topics that were rarely tackled by other artists in that fashion. The band took to extreme demonstrations to voice their viewpoints, which included burning communist regalia, firing guns such as in a skit that mocked Tim Commerford during the 2000 MTV Music Awards and going after prominent anti-capitalist celebrities, with a prime focus on how they're treated to luxuries in the realm of capitalism, and that they're not truly genuine when they stress their importance in their movements. Beyond the messages behind their songs, the band also garnered notoriety for having a large roster of members and their means of managing each member. They had four guitarists and three keyboardists, along with a drummer, two percussionists, a sampler and two vocalists. Riffin does harsher vocals and flows while Le Blanc does calmer vocals, though sometimes they switch. The first guitarist is in charge of the heavier riffs while the third one does mellower strings. The rhythm guitarist acts as the band's metronome whenever the bassist seeks to do more complicated bass lines, depending on the song. The keyboardists typically play the first five keys on their board and come out when the song's at its climax. The drummer and percussionists play in unison, though the latter takes full control during calmer portions of each song. One percussionist manages a set consisting of tribal drums while the other has more metallic drums with an industrial band stretched out over it, which when struck forms an amplified bass-like sound. Lastly, the sampler controls the volume in the instruments, done to replicate studio recordings and place higher emphasis on key instruments. Members Trina Riffin: lead vocals/rapping Sandra Le Blanc: vocals Hortense Fowler: guitar Sam Sharp: guitar Laura Powers: guitar Melissa Mipson: bass guitar Tambry Camacho: drums Dana Govindiaz: custom percussion Julia Woldov: custom percussion Birch Small: keyboard Wendy Coudoroy: samples, electronics, keyboard Shauna Chalmers: keytar Julie Saiko: keytar Releases Albums * Sir Eats a Lot (1999) * Exile (2000) * Conten(m)pt (2001) * Humiliation. Infuriation. Decimation. (2003) Demos/EPs *ASStitch (1996) *Staff Infection (1997) *Mind Hive (1998)